Shrubs and trees are versatile and can add a lot to the garden. They can provide structure, define beds, serve as a backdrop or focal point, add color, create privacy, brighten fall coloration, lend winter interest, and attract wildlife. Shrubs and small trees can be used as hedges, windbreaks, foundation plantings, and specimen plants. No matter what you want for your garden there is probably a shrub or tree that can help. Photo Credit Wikipedia
Shurbs and trees are either evergreen and keep their color all year around, or are deciduous and drop their leaves often turning yellow, orange, red, or purple before falling. Some plants have purple, silver, or variegated leaves that provide color but even those that are all green vary in hue, intensity, and value. Just think of the difference between olive green, kelly green, yellow green, and blue green, or the difference between bright green and pale green. No matter what color, foliage also adds texture with some leaves being shinny, others matte or leathery, still others hairy or prickly. Texture also varies with the size of the leaves and its parts; just compare a fern frond and magnolia leaf.
The flowers of shrubs and trees add another whole source of color including white, pink, lavender and yellow. Some flowers are also fragrant and can be used to fill a patio with a pleasing aroma. The bloom time is usually relatively short and annuals and perennials can be added to maintain color all season.
The selections below are all extremely and very drought tolerant shrubs and trees that provide flowers as well as foliage to the garden:
Siberian Peashrub (Caragana arborescens)
“Underwhelming” is probably the best adjective to describe this extremely hardy plant. Neither the small yellow-pea like flowers nor the pods or leaves will probably excite you, but if you need a tough plant tolerant of salt, wind, poor, dry soil, or extreme cold, you might want to consider this small tree or shrub. And not only does it tolerate poor soil, it actually improves it by fixing nitrogen, as other members of the pea family do. Its upright, multi-stemmed, columnar habit and bright green leaves make it a good choice for a screen, informal hedge, or windbreaker as well as for borders and containers. Several cultivars with attractive characteristics have been developed.
Type: Deciduous shrub or small tree
Height: 10-20′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late spring
Hardiness: Zones 2-7
Russian Pea Shrub (Caragana frutex)
Native to Turkestan and Siberia, this deciduous suckering shrub grows 6-10′ tall and forms clumps of slender supple branched stems that are gray green turning yellowish gray to brown with age. The dull green pinnate leaves are divided into 2-4 oval leaflets that are up to 1″ long. From mid- to late spring bright yellow flowers appear either singly or in clusters of 2-3. They are 1″ long, pea-shaped and give way to cylindrical seeds pods 1.5″ long. Plants are tolerant of drought, alkaline soil, salt, and wind and are a good hedge plants for a xeriscape, erosion control, windbreaks and snow traps.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 6-10′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid-spring to late spring
Hardiness: Zones 2-6
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Fern Bush (Chamaebattiaria millefolium)
Also known as desert sweet, this sweetly-aromatic semi-deciduous shrub is native to western US from Oregon to California, east to Idaho, Utah, and Arizona where it grows in scrub, woodland, and forests. The multi-stemmed plants grow 6-8′ tall and have erect downy stems that are sticky when young. The fern-like leaves are 3/4″-3″ long and bipinnately compound into very small leaflets that are light green above, pale below, sticky, and are lobed or have wavy margins. In mid-summer, 4″ long terminal panicles of white 5-petaled flowers .4″ wide appear and give way to brown seed capsules that persist into winter. Plants may become invasive but are useful in xeriscapes because of their extreme drought tolerance.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Height: 6-8′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid-summer
Hardiness: Zones 4-10
Photo Credit: Stan Shebs, Wikimedia Commons
Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus aka Ericameria nauseosus)
Rubber rabbitbrush is a deciduous shrub native to the western third of the US except the Pacific Northwest. It grows in open sunny areas with dry soil in foothills, mountains, valley bottoms, plains, and high deserts, often associated with sagebrush. The well branched plants grow 4-8′ tall and have yellowish-green stems that are covered with woolly gray, green, or white hairs that give off an unpleasant order when crushed. The almost needle-like leaves are up to 2 3/4 inch long and are often woolly and foul smelling when bruised. The flowerheads appear in terminal umbel-shaped clusters from mid summer into fall and consist entirely of pungent yellow tubular disc flowers. The fruits are achenes with tufts at the tip. Plants spread by seed and resprout from basal buds. Very drought tolerant, rubber rabbitbrush is an excellent choice for a xeriscape or desert garden and is especially valuable for alkaline soil.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 4-8′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid summer into fall
Hardiness: Zones 4-8
White Rock Rose (Cistus x hybridus aka C. corbariensis)
Native to southern Europe, this dense evergreen shrub resulted from a natural cross between C. salviifolius and C. populifolius. Plants grow 2-4′ high and if given plenty of room may spread to 12″ wide. The oval, dark gray-green leaves are 2″ long, downy, and crinkly, and have wavy margins. They are fragrant on warm days. In late spring to early summer, red buds at the tips of the downy branches open to 1.5″ wide flowers with 5 white petals tinged with yellow at the base surrounding a center of yellow stamens. Plants are fire resistant, and tolerant of drought, salt, heat and poor soil, so are a good choice for xeriscapes, borders, groundcovers, as well as seaside, rock and Mediterranean gardens.
Type: Flowering evergreen shrub
Height: 2-4′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
False Mock-Orange (Fandlera rupicola)
Also known as cliff Fandlera rupicola, this deciduous shrub is native to the mountains of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah where it grows on dry rocky slopes, cliffs, mesas, and in canyons and deserts. Plants grow 3 to 9′ tall and are intricately branched with gray-brown often exfoliating bark and thick light green leaves that are elliptical to oblong, up to 1.25″ long, and twisted. In mid-spring, solitary or clusters of up to 3 pink buds open at the ends of short branches to 1.5″ wide flowers that have 4 purplish sepals and 4 narrow creamy-white petals that are clawed at the base. False mock-orange thrives in hot dry climates and is an excellent choice for xeriscape or a border in the hottest part of the garden.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 3-9′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late spring
Hardiness: Zones 6-10
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Silk Tree (Grevillea robusta)
Native to the eastern coast of Australia, this fast growing evergreen tree is also called southern silky oak, silver oak, and Australian silver oak but is not a true oak. The trees grow up to 150′ tall in the wild but when grown in a pot reaches only 3-10′ . They have dark gray furrowed bark and fern-like leaves that are bipinately divided and have toothed margins. The leaves are 4-12″ long, dark olive green above and silky pubescent below. In early spring 4-12″ long one-sided racemes of yellowish orange to reddish flowers appear on stems that may have lost most of their leaves. The flowers lack petals and consist of a calyx tube that splits into 4 lobes with long styles. Silk tree is a popular shade tree in the tropics and subtropics and can be grown as a houseplant in cooler climates. Flowers attract birds and foliage serves as butterfly larval food. It is brittle in high winds, and has heavy leaf drop in spring with sporadic leaf drop at other times.
Type: Evergreen tree
Height: 150′ (3-10′ in pot)
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Hardiness: Zones 10-12 (semi-deciuous 8-9)
Photo Credit: Alvesgaspar, Wikipedia
Rock Spireas (Holodiscus dumosus)
Rock spirea is a deciduous shrub also known as mountain spray, rock spirea, bush oceanspray, and glandular oceanspray. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Wyoming, South to far west Texas and northern Mexico where it grows in woodland, shrubland, cliffs, canyons and dry slopes. The sprawling plants can grow up to 20′ tall and have intricately branched stems with exfoliating bark when mature and reddish twigs that may be slightly spiny. The ovate, lobed or coarsely toothed leaves are slightly less than 1″ long, and have pronounced veins. They have a spicy scent when crushed and turn orange in the fall. In summer, small pinkish-white to cream colored flowers appear in feathery 2-8″ long panicles and have about 10 petals and numerous conspicuous stamens. The flowers turn attractive orange when dry and have very small 1 seeded dry fruits. Plants are attractive in shrub borders and rock gardens.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 1.6-20′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Hardiness: Zones 4-7
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Trailing Lantana (Lantana montevidensis)
A butterfly magnet, trailing lantana is a low woody shrub with vine-like stems that can grow up to six feet long. It is a native of South America and is grown as a perennial in zones 8 and warmer, but as an annual in colder areas. In frost free areas it blooms throughout the year with flat clusters one inch across of lilac to purple-pink flowers with yellow throats. The hairy dark green leaves are rough, one inch long, and emit an unpleasant aroma when crushed. Trailing lantana is fast growing and easy to grow, maintain and propagate. At 12-24” tall it makes a colorful groundcover in a sunny site. The cascading nature of the plant makes it an excellent choice for walls, raised beds, containers, especially baskets where the trailing stems can be used to advantage. Trailing lantana is tolerant of drought, salt, and heat so is suitable for seaside plantings. In warmer regions such as the South and southern California, trailing lantana has naturalized and become invasive in some locations.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Height: 12-24″
Bloom Time: All year around
Light: Full sun
Hardiness: Zones 9-10
European Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
Also called common privet, this semi-evergreen or deciduous shrub is native to central and southern Europe, north Africa, and southwestern Asia. Plants grow 5-15′ tall and have stiff, erect stems that carry opposite pairs of dark green, oblong to oval leaves 1.5-2.5″ long. In late spring to mid summer 3″ long panicles of creamy white flowers appear at the stem tips. The tubular flowers have a 4-lobed corolla, and are fragrant, although some people find the scent unpleasant. The fruit is a small berry that contains 1-4 seed, is black when ripe and is attractive to thrushes. European privet is drought and pollution tolerant and has been a very popular plant for a hedge or screen but can become invasive and is used less than in past times. It tends to be more evergreen in the southern part of its range and grows quickly so is usually pruned twice a year.
Type: Semi-evergreen to deciduous shrub
Height: 5-15′
Light: Full sun to part shade
Bloom Time: Late spring to mid-summer
Hardiness: Zones 4-7
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Chinaberry Tree (Melia azedarach)
Chinaberry tree is a deciduous tree native to Asia and Australia that was brought to southern United States as an ornamental but has become a nuisance in some places. It grows rapidly to 30-50′ tall and has dark green leaves that are up to 2- long, and doubly pinnate with each leaflet being having serrated margins and growing 1-3″ long. In spring, small, fragrant, lavender to purple flowers are produced in loose terminal clusters 8-16″ long and are followed by round, yellow berry- like fruits that persist into winter. The fruits are eaten by birds but are poisonous to mammals including humans. When cut, plants sucker and form dense stands that shade out native species. The leaf litter makes the soil more alkaline and appears to be allelopathic, further restricting the growth of other vegetation. Chinaberry tree is popular, however, for fragrant flowers and tolerance to drought, heat, pests, and lean alkaline soil, and is especially popular in the South as a lawn specimen or accent tree.
Type: Deciduous tree
Height: 30-50′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Oleander (Nerium oleander)
Oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a native range associated with the Mediterranean Basin. Plants grow 6.5-20′ tall and have cane-like stems with shiny green twigs and carry pairs of whorls of 3-4, leathery lanceolate leaves 4-10″ long. The leaves are dark green above and paler with a prominent midrib below. From late spring to late summer, terminal clusters of 4-5 flowers appear. Each flower is 5-lobed, 2.5″ wide, and may be yellowish, red, white, pink, orange or purple. Some cultivars are fragrant and may have double flowers. Plants are very tolerant of drought, heat, air pollution, and salt so are a good choice for xeriscapes, urban gardens, highway plantings, and seaside gardens. All parts of the plant are poisonous but are very bitter so few animals eat enough of the plant to have a problem. The sap of the plant may cause skin irritation, dermatitis, and eye inflammation.
Type: Evergreen flowering shrub or small tree
Height: 6.5-20′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late spring to late summer
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit:Wikimedia
Wild Plum (Prunus america)
This suckering deciduous tree is also known as American plum and yellow plum and is native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and East to Quebec, Maine, and Florida where it grows in woodlands, pastures, stream-sides, and abandoned fields. Plants grow 10-20′ tall and have a shallow spreading root system and main stems with smooth reddish/gray bark that becomes rough, furrowed, and exfoliating as it ages. The branches and twigs are dark reddish-brown and may have thorns. The ovate to oblong leaves are 2-4″ long and have toothed margins. They are dark green on the upper side, paler beneath, and turn yellow to orange or red in the fall. In mid-spring before the leaves emerge, umbels of 2-5 white flowers appear in the leaf axils. Each flower is about 1″ across, has 5 petals, and are unpleasantly aromatic. The round fruits are 1″ across and are red with bright yellow pulp. Although the fruits are edible they are tart and usually used for jellies and preserves.
Type: Deciduous tree
Height: 10-20′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid-spring
Hardiness: 3-8
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Indian Hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica)
Also known as Hong Kong hawthorn, this dense evergreen shrub is native to south China to Indo-China and temperate eastern Asia including Japan, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Plants grow up to 12′ tall and have a sympodial grown form. The purplish to grayish stems are hairy and bear leathery 1-3″ long leaves that are dark green above, dull green below, and are tinged with purple in winter. The leaves are lanceolate to obovate, to almost round, and have bluntly toothed margins and a pointed tip. In spring, terminal open 3″ wide panicles appear and consist of white or pink tinged flowers that are 1/2″ across, have 5 petals and are fragrant. Plants are tolerant of drought, salt, and shade but are pest and disease prone. They are effective as hedges and screens, and can be used in xeriscapes, seaside gardens, and containers.
Type: Flowering evergreen shrub
Height: 3-12″
Light: Full sun but tolerates shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit:Wikimedia
Littleleaf Mock-Orange (Philadelphus microphyllus)
Littleleaf mock-orange is a bushy multibranched deciduous shrub native to the Southwest US from Wyoming to northern Mexico west to California where it grows in the scrub and brush habitats of the foothills and mountains. Plants grow up to 6.5′ tall and have arching stems with reddish brown bark that shreds into thin strips. The medium green leaves are up to 1″ long, oval to lanceolate, and turn yellow in the fall. In late spring or early summer pure white flowers appear from the joints of the previous year’s shoots. Each flower is about 1″ across and has 4-5 petals and a pineapple fragrance. Littleleaf mock-range is easy to grow and is useful in xeriscapes, borders, screens, hedges, and foundation plantings. Planting it where its fragrance can be enjoyed is a plus.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 4-6.5′
Light: Full sun; tolerates partial shade
Bloom Time: Late spring or early summer
Hardiness: Zones 5-9
Squaw Currant (Ribes cereum)
Also known as white-flowered currant, wax currant, and western red currant, this deciduous spreading or erect shrub is native from British Columbia to northern California east to Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico where is grows in dry woods and on rocky slopes. Plants grow 4-6′ tall and are densely branched with thornless stems that have cherry-like bark. The rounded leaves are .4-1.6″ across and have 3-5 shallow lobes with bluntly toothed margins. They are waxy and gray-green on the upper side and downy gray on the lower side before turning yellow in the fall. In early summer, drooping clusters of 2-9 tubular flowers appear that are 2-3 inches long and composed of greenish-white to pink petal-like sepals and inconspicuous white to pink petals. The fruit is a shiny red to orange berry that may be flavorful and are loved by birds. Plants are drought tolerant and useful as a hedge.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 4-6′
Light: Early summer
Hardiness: Zones 5-8
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Rose Acacia (Robinia hispida)
Also known as bristly acacia, this flowering deciduous shrub is native to eastern and central US. It grows 2-10′ tall from a rhizomatous root system and has well-branched, stems often with red bristles. The pinnate compound leaves have 7 to 13 oblong to round leaflets that are 1-2″ long, blue-green at first but turn yellow in the fall. From late spring to mid summer hanging, axillary and terminal racemes appear that are 2-4 ” long and consist of 5-15 rosy pink flowers. Each pea-like flowers is 1″ long, has 5 petals and gives way to a flat seed pods that are 2- 3″ long , contain 3-5 seeds, and covered with purple-brown bristly hairs. Plants are tolerant of drought, poor soil, heat, and air pollution but can become invasive. They are often used for erosion control on slopes, as a hedge or screen in the garden and are suitable for xeriscapes and native plant gardens.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 2-10′
Light: Full sun to partial sun
Bloom Time: Late spring to mid summer
Hardiness: Zones 5-8
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Matilija Poppy aka California Poppy Tree (Romneya coulteri)
Matilija poppy is a deciduous suckering subshrub native to Southern California and Baja California where it is associated with chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities. In spring, poppy-like flowers 6-8″ across appear singly at the ends of the stems and consists of 6 crepe-paper like petals surrounding a mass of intense golden stamens. The gray-green leaves have a waxy texture and are deeply divided. The woody stems arise from rhizomes that account for the tendency of new plants to pop up all over the area were the mother plant is growing. Matilija poppy is hard to establish and resents being moved but is drought tolerant once it takes hold. Like many other poppies, the plants fade after blooming and can be cut back to three to four inches. The hybrid ‘White Cloud’ has similarly sized flowers but is less rambunctious and therefore more suitable for most gardens. Yes, this plant is also known as the “fried egg plant” but that name does not do it justice.
Type: Flowering deciduous subshrub
Height: 3-7′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rocky Mountain Flowering Raspberry (Rubus deliciosus)
Also known as delicious raspberry, boulder raspberry and snowy bramble, this deciduous shrub or vine is native to Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Growing 5-10′ tall, plants have reddish arching canes with flaky, peeling bark but are thornless. The simple leaves are round to oval, 1.3-2″ long, and have 3-5 shallow lobes. In late spring white, rose-like flowers appear that are fragrant, up to 2 inches across and have 5 petals. The fruit is a purple to wine-red berry that is considered dry, very seedy, and unappealing although attractive to birds. The hybrid ‘Tridel’ has larger flowers than the species and is favored for garden use as a hedge or screen.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Height: 5-10′
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Bloom Time: Late spring
Hardiness: Zones 5-8
Photo Credit: Ulf-Eliasson-Wikipedia
Feathery Cassia (Senna artemisioides aka Cassia artemisiodes)
Endemic to Australia, this compact evergreen shrub is also known as silver senna, wormwood senna and silver cassia. It grows 4-10′ tall and has finely divided gray-green pinnate leaves with 1-8 pairs of needle-like leaflets that are 1″ long. From mid-winter to early spring clusters of 2-6 yellow flowers .5″ in diameter appear in the leaf axils and are followed by lime green seed pods .8-1.75″ long that turn dark brown when dry. The plants are tolerant of drought and coastal conditions and are an outstanding choice for a xeriscape, border, hedge, or coastal garden.
Type: Flowering evergreen shrub
Height: 4-10′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid-winter to early spring
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Spanish Broom (Spartium junceus)
Known as rush broom and weaver’s broom, this flowering deciduous shrub is native to southwestern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Azores where it grows on dry, sandy, sunny sites. Plants grow 6-13′ tall and have numerous, grooved, rush-like stems that are evergreen. The bright green leaves are up to 1″ long, sparsely produced, and last for month but are sometimes are absent. From summer into fall terminal loose racemes up to 18″ long of bright yellow fragrant flowers appear. Each flower is about 1″ long and is followed by a hairy flat seed pod 3-4″ long. Spanish broom tolerates drought and seaside exposure so is an excellent choice for xeriscapes, seaside and Mediterranean gardens. It is a vigorous plant, however, and is considered invasive and a noxious weed in California, Oregon and Hawaii.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Height: 6-13′
Light: Full sun
Bloom Time: Summer to fall
Hardiness: Zones 8-10
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Wayfaring Tree (Viburnum lantana)
Wayfaring tree is a large deciduous shrub growing up to 15’ tall and wide and native to open woodland and woodland edges in Europe to western Asia. The bold dark green leaves are 2-5” long, elliptical to ovate, leathery, thick, and toothed, and have large white conspicuous veins on the underside. Flat-topped clusters of creamy white flowers 3-5” in diameter appear in spring and have a fishy odor. Fruits are green turning to red, red-orange or red-yellow by early late summer but often fail to appear. The plants are vigorous, tend to get leggy, and can become invasive. Several cultivars are available that vary in size and foliage color.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Height: 15′
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Hardiness: Zones 4-7
Photo Credit: Wikipedia